The Premier League is now looking more and more like a three horse race between Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea, whilst there's a big battle for that final Champions League position between another four teams. At the bottom it's a similar battle with no team being cut adrift. This is shaping up to be an exciting second half to the campaign.
So let's have a look at some of the key weekend battles. Firstly, table toppers, Arsenal, host a struggling Fulham side. It does baffle me a little why Fulham are in this position with the likes of Berbatov and Bent in the team. Clint Dempsey has also rejoined from the MLS in the transfer window to add to their attacking options. Will this make much difference? With Arsenal's current form I reckon there could be a few goals. I won't continue to bleat on about Manchester City's home form as Cardiff visit them this weekend. Cardiff haven't been without their own woes, which has mainly been off the field, however, with new manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, at the realm, the fans are hoping for a change in fortune. Can anyone beat City at home this season? I seriously doubt it. With them averaging four goals per game at home this season this could be another big scoreline.
Aston Villa travel to Liverpool in the tea time match on Saturday. There's distinct split appearing now in the Premier League, with the top nine clubs starting to pull away whilst 10th downward still remains pretty tight. Villa are a team who seems to be topping this large group of teams which can be dangerous. With Villa currently sitting in 12th place, their position seems comfortable, however, only being five points off the drop zone, things can change very quickly. This highlights how close the league is this season. With Suarez on blistering form, Liverpool should be too strong. Home win. Swansea are another team in that 'precarious comfort zone' who need to continually watch their backs. They've not won in four league matches now and it doesn't get any easier as Spurs are the visitors on Sunday. Tottenham's fortune has turned around in recent weeks, which was highlighted by the hilarious penalty by Jason Puncheon for Palace against Spurs last weekend. Spurs seem to travel quite well against the lower Premier League teams and an away win is forecast.
The big match of the weekend is at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea host Manchester United. United got a much needed win last weekend but with potentially both Rooney and van Persie out there is a lack cutting edge up front. Meanwhile, Chelsea have been plugging away and keep getting the points on the board. Chelsea will be favourites going in to the game but United will be up for this. Spoils shared and a draw is predicted.
So to summarise the top picks, in the Premier League, Manchester City and Arsenal at home look good bets, as does Roma and Metz at home in Serie A and the French Ligue 2, respectively. Also, away wins for Real Madrid in La Liga and Vitesse in the Dutch Eredivisie are looking good. In terms of the 'value for money' bets, one that sticks out is Verona away to Milan. Milan have really struggled this season lying mid table whilst Verona are knocking on the door for a European place. With odds of around 5/1 for a Verona win, it's definitely worth a punt...! The other two matches that are worth looking at are Tours away at Niort in the French Ligue 2 and Go Ahead Eagles away to Cambuur in the Dutch Eredivisie.
That's it from me for this weekend. As usual, please feel free to comment on my predictions or discuss anything football related. Also, please remember to +1 my blog or share using the social media buttons to the right hand side.
Enjoy...!
So to summarise the top picks, in the Premier League, Manchester City and Arsenal at home look good bets, as does Roma and Metz at home in Serie A and the French Ligue 2, respectively. Also, away wins for Real Madrid in La Liga and Vitesse in the Dutch Eredivisie are looking good. In terms of the 'value for money' bets, one that sticks out is Verona away to Milan. Milan have really struggled this season lying mid table whilst Verona are knocking on the door for a European place. With odds of around 5/1 for a Verona win, it's definitely worth a punt...! The other two matches that are worth looking at are Tours away at Niort in the French Ligue 2 and Go Ahead Eagles away to Cambuur in the Dutch Eredivisie.
That's it from me for this weekend. As usual, please feel free to comment on my predictions or discuss anything football related. Also, please remember to +1 my blog or share using the social media buttons to the right hand side.
Enjoy...!
| Time | Day | League | Home Team | Prediction | Away team |
| 12:45 | Sat | Eng Prem | Sunderland | A | Southampton |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Prem | Arsenal | HHHHH | Fulham |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Prem | Crystal Palace | D | Stoke City |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Prem | Manchester City | HHHHH | Cardiff City |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Prem | Norwich City | D | Hull City |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Prem | West Ham United | AA | Newcastle United |
| 17:30 | Sat | Eng Prem | Liverpool | HHH | Aston Villa |
| 13:30 | Sun | Eng Prem | Swansea City | AAA | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 16:00 | Sun | Eng Prem | Chelsea | D | Manchester United |
| 20:00 | Mon | Eng Prem | West Bromwich … | AA | Everton |
| 12:15 | Sat | Eng Champ | Leeds United | AAAA | Leicester City |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Champ | Burnley | H | Sheffield Wedn… |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Champ | Millwall | AA | Ipswich Town |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Champ | Nottingham Forest | D | Blackburn Rovers |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Champ | Derby County | H | Brighton & Hov… |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Champ | Barnsley | D | Blackpool |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Champ | Queens Park Ra… | H | Huddersfield Town |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Champ | Doncaster Rovers | AA | Wigan Athletic |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Champ | AFC Bournemouth | D | Watford |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Champ | Middlesbrough | H | Charlton Athletic |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Champ | Reading | D | Bolton Wanderers |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Champ | Birmingham City | HH | Yeovil Town |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Shrewsbury Town | AA | Rotherham United |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Gillingham | A | Swindon Town |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Port Vale | H | Oldham Athletic |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Crawley Town | AA | Wolverhampton … |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Carlisle United | A | Colchester United |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Peterborough U… | H | Tranmere Rovers |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Preston North End | D | Coventry City |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Sheffield United | H | Bradford City |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Crewe Alexandra | AAA | Leyton Orient |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Walsall | AA | Brentford |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Bristol City | A | Milton Keynes Dons |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 1 | Stevenage | A | Notts County |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | Oxford United |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | Fleetwood Town | H | Hartlepool United |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | Scunthorpe United | HHHH | AFC Wimbledon |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | Southend United | A | Chesterfield |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | Rochdale | H | Plymouth Argyle |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | Exeter City | D | Morecambe |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | Bury | AA | Burton Albion |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | Torquay United | D | Northampton Town |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | Cheltenham Town | H | Accrington Stanley |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | Newport County | HH | Dagenham & Red… |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | York City | H | Bristol Rovers |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng Lge 2 | Portsmouth | D | Mansfield Town |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Aldershot Town | H | Kidderminster … |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Braintree Town | HH | Lincoln City |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Chester | A | Barnet |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Halifax Town | A | Cambridge United |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Grimsby Town | H | Gateshead |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Hereford United | H | Southport |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Hyde | AAA | Forest Green R… |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Luton Town | HHHH | Wrexham |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Nuneaton Town | A | Macclesfield Town |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Salisbury City | HH | Dartford |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Welling United | D | Woking |
| 15:00 | Sat | Eng N/L Nat | Portsmouth | AAA | Mansfield Town |
| 15:00 | Sat | Sco Prem | Aberdeen | D | Inverness CT |
| 15:00 | Sat | Sco Prem | Celtic | H | Motherwell |
| 15:00 | Sat | Sco Prem | Hibernian | HH | St. Mirren |
| 15:00 | Sat | Sco Prem | Partick Thistle | A | Kilmarnock |
| 15:00 | Sat | Sco Prem | Ross County | D | Dundee United |
| 15:00 | Sat | Sco Prem | St. Johnstone | HH | Heart of Midlo… |
| 19:30 | Fri | Fra Lig 1 | Saint-Étienne | H | Lille |
| 16:00 | Sat | Fra Lig 1 | Olympique Mars… | H | Valenciennes |
| 19:00 | Sat | Fra Lig 1 | Bastia | A | Bordeaux |
| 19:00 | Sat | Fra Lig 1 | Lorient | H | Guingamp |
| 19:00 | Sat | Fra Lig 1 | Nice | HH | Ajaccio |
| 19:00 | Sat | Fra Lig 1 | Rennes | D | Evian TG |
| 19:00 | Sat | Fra Lig 1 | Sochaux | D | Montpellier |
| 13:00 | Sun | Fra Lig 1 | Reims | H | Olympique Lyonnais |
| 16:00 | Sun | Fra Lig 1 | Toulouse | A | Monaco |
| 20:00 | Sun | Fra Lig 1 | PSG | HHHH | Nantes |
| 19:00 | Fri | Fra Lig 2 | Caen | H | Laval |
| 19:00 | Fri | Fra Lig 2 | Châteauroux | D | Angers |
| 19:00 | Fri | Fra Lig 2 | Clermont | D | Le Havre |
| 19:00 | Fri | Fra Lig 2 | Istres | D | Brest |
| 19:00 | Fri | Fra Lig 2 | Nancy | HHH | CA Bastia |
| 19:00 | Fri | Fra Lig 2 | Nîmes | D | Auxerre |
| 19:00 | Fri | Fra Lig 2 | Niort | A | Tours |
| 13:00 | Sat | Fra Lig 2 | Arles | D | Troyes |
| 13:00 | Sat | Fra Lig 2 | Lens | H | Dijon |
| 19:30 | Mon | Fra Lig 2 | Metz | HHHHH | Créteil |
| 17:00 | Sat | Ita Ser A | Roma | HHHHH | Livorno |
| 19:45 | Sat | Ita Ser A | Juventus | HHHH | Sampdoria |
| 11:30 | Sun | Ita Ser A | Udinese | D | Lazio |
| 14:00 | Sun | Ita Ser A | Atalanta | D | Cagliari |
| 14:00 | Sun | Ita Ser A | Catania | AA | Fiorentina |
| 14:00 | Sun | Ita Ser A | Genoa | D | Internazionale |
| 14:00 | Sun | Ita Ser A | Bologna | AAA | Napoli |
| 14:00 | Sun | Ita Ser A | Chievo | A | Parma |
| 14:00 | Sun | Ita Ser A | Sassuolo | A | Torino |
| 19:45 | Sun | Ita Ser A | Milan | A | Hellas Verona |
| 20:00 | Fri | Spa Prim | Málaga | D | Valencia |
| 15:00 | Sat | Spa Prim | Real Betis | AAAAA | Real Madrid |
| 17:00 | Sat | Spa Prim | Elche | D | Rayo Vallecano |
| 19:00 | Sat | Spa Prim | Granada | D | Osasuna |
| 21:00 | Sat | Spa Prim | Espanyol | H | Celta de Vigo |
| 11:00 | Sun | Spa Prim | Getafe | AAA | Real Sociedad |
| 16:00 | Sun | Spa Prim | Villarreal | HHH | Almería |
| 18:00 | Sun | Spa Prim | Levante | AAAA | Barcelona |
| 20:00 | Sun | Spa Prim | Atlético Madrid | H | Sevilla |
| 21:00 | Mon | Spa Prim | Athletic Club | HHHH | Real Valladolid |
| 19:00 | Fri | Hol Ere'div | Twente | HHH | Heracles |
| 17:45 | Sat | Hol Ere'div | AZ | D | NAC Breda |
| 18:45 | Sat | Hol Ere'div | RKC Waalwijk | A | Groningen |
| 18:45 | Sat | Hol Ere'div | PEC Zwolle | AAAAA | Vitesse |
| 19:45 | Sat | Hol Ere'div | Heerenveen | HHH | Roda JC |
| 11:30 | Sun | Hol Ere'div | NEC | D | ADO Den Haag |
| 13:30 | Sun | Hol Ere'div | Cambuur | A | Go Ahead Eagles |
| 13:30 | Sun | Hol Ere'div | Utrecht | AA | Feyenoord |
| 15:30 | Sun | Hol Ere'div | Ajax | HHHH | PSV |
| 20:00 | Fri | Por S'liga | Olhanense | AA | Vitória Guimarães |
| 20:15 | Sat | Por S'liga | Arouca | AAA | Sporting CP |
| 16:00 | Sun | Por S'liga | Rio Ave | H | Belenenses |
| 16:00 | Sun | Por S'liga | Académica | H | Gil Vicente |
| 17:00 | Sun | Por S'liga | Sporting Braga | HHH | Paços de Ferreira |
| 17:00 | Sun | Por S'liga | Benfica | HHH | Marítimo |
| 19:15 | Sun | Por S'liga | Porto | HHH | Vitória Setúbal |
| 20:00 | Mon | Por S'liga | Nacional | D | Estoril |
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